Overview

The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive is a celebratory record of the 20th century’s most influential figures, seen through the eyes of British photographer and award-winning set and costume designer Cecil Beaton. Located at Sotheby’s London and managed by Art Agency, Partners, the archive consists of over 100,000 negatives and 9,000 vintage prints from Beaton’s personal collection. Cecil Beaton negotiated the transfer of his private archive to Sotheby’s in 1977 to preserve it for future generations. Today, the collection – some of which is still stored in Beaton’s original filing cabinets – is available to license and reproduce in print, on film and television, and for exhibition worldwide. From 2018, posthumous prints of selected images from the archive will be available for sale online.